Pressurized system and method for the delivery of beverages from bulk



Dec. 7, 1965 T. PORTER 3,221,931 PRESSURIZED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THEDELIVERY OF BEVERAGES FROM BULK Filed March 5, 1964 I33 3@ P i 5 26 10 IL g Q" i y 5 Z 2' A Y y V K )7 /NVENTOI? THOMAS PORTER BY ATTORNEYUnited States Patent 3,221,931 PRESSURIZED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THEDELWERY 0F BEVERAGES FROM BULK Thomas Porter, Manchester, England,assignor to Porter- Lancastrian Limited, Bolton, England Filed Mar. 3,1964, Ser. No. 348,960 7 Claims. (Cl. 222-1) This invention relates to asystem and method for the supply of filtered beer at the bar of a hotel,club, public hous or the like from a bulk storage, and whether thestorage is arranged at a lower or higher level than the bar or is on thesame level. The term bulk storage as used herein means a storagecontainer which is more or less permanently installed in a premises asdistinct from interchangeable barrels or kegs, and which has a capacityof more than one barrel.

Objects of the invention are to provide conditions of maximum hygiene insuch a system, the liquor to be delivered being inaccessible duringfeeding to the container, and during storage in the container so that itmay be discharged at the bar in the same condition as when it left thebrewery; to provide for the minimum of effort on the part of the barmanin drawing the beer from the bulk storage, the pressure for expellingthe liquor at the dispensing point being provided otherwise than by thebarman himself; to eliminate all opportunity for a landlord or attendantat a hotel or club to dilute the liquor before delivery, either byadding water to the bulk or by the return to the bulk of drippings andspillings at the bar; and (in cases where this is required) to allow ofaccurate measurement of the dispensed liquor (within the tolerancesallowed by law), irrespective of the amount of head formed whilstdispensing, so that no spilling at the dispenser takes place.

The present invention provides a system for the dispensing of filteredbeer in which first beer has been filtered is fed to and stored in apermanently installed bulk container of a capacity larger than onebarrel, and in which the beer is drawn off from the bottom of saidcontainer as and when required by means of an automatic measuring andshut-off dispenser set to deliver a predetermined measured quantity ateach operation. An example of such a dispenser is set forth in Britishpatent specification No. 868,623. For effecting the propulson of thebeer to the dispenser, use may be made of pressurising the saidcontainer by the admission to the upper part thereof of a pressure gas(such as CO or nitrogen) or use may be made of a driven pump. In thelatter cases the pump may or may not be of a metering type, and if ofsuch a type it may be a peristaltic pump or otherwise.

It is preferred that the said container, which may be a compartmentedcontainer or a battery of containers for the bulk liquor, berefrigerated so that a chilled filtered beer may be dispensed and, inany case the beer may be made to pass through an in-line cooler in knownmanner as it goes from the bulk to the dispenser.

With an arrangement according to this invention the dispensed liquor isfree from sediment owing to having been filtered before storage, therequired accuracy of quality is automatically determined when theautomatic dispenser is used and, if the bulk container is suitablypressurized, it is an advantage of the system that a uniform aeration orsparkle is maintained in the liquor as there is no loss of aeration intothe empty part of the container as the container empties. There is alsoa minimum of dripping at the dispenser and there is no spilling at thedispenser since no surplus is delivered, and there is practically nophysical effort required on the part of the barman, the propulsion ofthe liquor to and through the dispenser being the result of thepressurisaice tion of the bulk container or the result of the drivenpump.

A further feature of the invention resides in the fact that if apparatusis used for supplying pressure gas to the upper part of the bulkcontainer, this is so disposed that releasable connections between thebulk container and the bottles from which the gas supply is taken, forthe interchange of empty and full bottles, are arranged at a level lowerthan the top of the container, for example, are at the bottom end of arigid conduit extending downwardly alongside the container, thus makingit impossible for liquor to be poured into the container whilst a gasbottle is disconnected. A suitable pressure gauge will usually be fittedto the container to indicate the interior pressure, and this gauge maybe associated with an automatically controlled valve so as to maintain aconstant interior pressure in the container without supervision.

Further the beer will be fed into the container through the outletopening at the bottom, after a suitable interchange between supply anddelivery conduits, thus rendering any filling orifice at the top of thecontainer unnecessary and thereby further eliminating the risk ofdilution of the beer. Venting of the container during the fillingoperation will be arranged for at the gas inlet by the use of suitableinterchange valves or like means.

Normally provision will be made for accommodating one or more gasbottles alongside, on or below or otherwise adjacent the bulk containerso that a packaged system may be provided. In other arrangements the gasbottle or bottles may be stored elsewhere and have a suitable pipecommunication with the bulk container. In some such cases for examplethe gas bottle or bottles may be arranged to be suspended from aceiling, adjacent the container though this is not preferred. Or, theremay be a relatively large gas bottle standing on the floor and supplyingpressure gas to a number of containers simultaneously. However, what ispreferred is the use of a smaller gas bottle for each container, mountedon the same stillage as the container.

In the serving of beer from bulk it is contrary to law in some countriesto serve less than the amount requested by the customer, say half-pintor the like, and it is also contrary to law in some countries to servemore than the amount requested, subject to a permitted tolerance. Byreason of the first of these requirements it has been the practice tomark vessels for public use with a line indicating the level to whichthe vessel must be filled to give the correct volume asked for. As thepouring of aerated liquors produces a froth or head which, when itsubsides will be included in the volume served, it has been customary tomake the vessels large enough to accommodate such a head but, only to alimited amount so as to avoid any breach of the regulation forbidding anover-supply. These circumstances necessitate care and skill on the partof the barman or other server if spilling-over is to be prevented.

However, it has been found in practice that spillingover occurs veryoften, the server not taking suflicient care or not having sufiicienttime so to regulate the head that no spilling occurs. This spilling-overinvolves the messing of the outside of the vessel and of the surface onwhich the vessel stands, and it also necessitates the use of a drip trayto collect the spillings. The collected spillage is frequently returnedby the hotel landlord or club attendant or the like to the bulk supply,despite regulations to the contrary, a habit which is unhygienic andobjectionable.

In the improved system according to the present invention all thesedifiiculties are overcome by the use with the said metering typedispense apparatus of a drinking vessel of greater capacity than isrequired for the metered quantity and for any head which would beproduced in the dispensing of that quantity from such meteringdispenser. This ensures an accurate supply, entirely free from spillageand, if the vessel is marked relieves the barman of any necessity tocalculate by how much he should stop short of the mark to allow for theadded volume of the head when it has subsided.

The invention therefore provides, for use in a pressurised automaticshut-01f type of delivery systems as defined above a drinking vesselmarked with the necessary level indication for a specific volume ofliquor and having a capacity above that level slightly larger than isnecessary to accommodate any head that might form during dispensing.

Representative examples of the invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, in which:

. FIG. 1 represents a section through a building in which the apparatusis installed, and where the bulk container is pressurised; and

FIG. 2 is a similar view illustrating a case where the beer is pumpedfrom the container.

As shown in FIG. 1 there is a thermally-insulated bulk container 1resting on supports 2 and having a flanged outlet 3, at the bottom 31 ofthe container which either a supply pipe 26 or a header 4 may beinterchangeably attached, the header 4 having valve-controlled deliverypipes 5 leading to various dispense points in the building, one of whichis shown as a bar counter 6 on an upper floor 23 of the building. Theremay be of course more than one such container, connected either inseries or in parallel. The thermal insulation is designated 36, thevalves in delivery pipes 5 are designated 25. The room, in which thecontainer is located, is desiguated 24, and the in-line cooler isdesignated 22.

At the rear of the counter 6 is an automatic metering dispenser 7 forexample such as that disclosed in British patent specification No.868,623 and having a delivery outlet 8 from which the drinking vessels 9may be filled. Each vessel 9 includes a mark 19 as a level indication,the portion below the line having the capacity to contain apredetermined, metered quantity 20 of beer delivered from the dispenser7. The portion above the line is of predetermined capacity sufficient tohold any head, or froth, 21 produced by the quantity 20 Withoutspillage.

Standing on the basement floor at 10 is a C0 bottle 11 the dischargenozzle from which is connected by a conduit and releasable connections34 and 35 forming the union 13 at the lower end 29 of a rigid gas pipe14 lower than the top 30 of the container, the other, or upper, end 28of conduit 12 entering the container 1 at the gas inlet port, or orifice15. Thereby the gas pressure from the cylinder or bottle 11 can beapplied to the top of the liquor in the container 1. The purpose offeeding the gas conduit 12 to the union 13 at a lower point than thepoint of entry 15 into the container 1 as shown, is to prevent the entryinto the container of water or drippings etc., say during the time whenan empty gas bottle 11 is being replaced by a full one. In this case theliquor is discharged from the container, lifted to the dispensing point,and the dispenser operated, all by the fluid pressure means 33consisting of the pressure of CO in the container.

In the alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 2, the pressurisation ofthe container 1 is dispensed with except for maintaining the correctamount of gasification of the liquor, and a driven pump 16 is providedfor propelling the beer to the dispense point or points.' This may be ametering pump, for example, a peristaltic pump or it may stop or startunder control of the dispense valve or tap, or it may be a continuouslyrunning pump with by-pass means to divert the pumped beer when thedispense outlet is closed.

As can be seen, the use of this invention results in the delivery ateach service of an exactly metered quantity of filtered, refrigeratedundiluted beer, without dripping or spilling at the dispense point, thedelivery being into a drinking vessel which is of a larger size than isnecessary to contain the required quantity and any head that may formbut, as the metering is automatic, there is no necessity for the serverto take care as to how much is entered into the drinking vessel.

What I claim is:

1. A hygienic, filtered beer storage and system, said system comprising:

a storage room;

a bulk storage beer container having a capacity of more than one barrel,said container having a gas inlet at the top thereof but being free ofliquid filling orifices except for a liquid inlet and outlet opening,closed by a header, at the bottom thereof;

supports permanently installing said container in said room;

a gas pipe, of rigid material, having an upper end connected to said gasinlet and having a lower end extending downwardly therefrom, to a levellower than the top of said container, for preventing the introduction ofliquid into said inlet;

a metering tap, mounted outside of said storage room, said tapdispensing a predetermined quantity of beer, plus the head normallyproduced by such quantity;

a beer delivery conduit connecting said tap to said header;

a beer supply conduit leading away from said container, said conduithaving a delivery end interchangeably with said header for filling saidcontainer;

and fiuid pressure means in said system, in advance of said tap, saidmeans being operable on the beer in said system to deliver said beerunder predetermined pressure to said tap;

whereby said system is inaccessible for introduction of dilutants,drippings or spillings during supply to, storage in and delivery fromsaid container.

2. A hygienic, filtered, beer storage and dispensing system as specifiedin claim 1 wherein said gas pipe includes a releasable connection at thelower end thereof, and

said fluid pressure means includes a pressurized gas bottle, in saidroom, said bottle having a gas conduit with a releasable connectionforming a union with the said releasable connection on the lower end ofsaid gas pipe;

whereby the beer in said bulk container is pressurized above the levelthereof to propel said beer into said beer delivery conduit but saidbeer cannot be liquid contaminated during the changing of gas bottles.

3. A hygienic, filtered beer storage and dispensing system as specifiedin claim 1 wherein:

said fluid pressure means includes a driven pump mounted in said room atthe level of the bottom of said container, said pump being in said beerdelivery conduit;

whereby said pump delivers beer under pressure to said tap and saidrigid gas pipe vents the beer in said container, while maintaining theinaccessibility of said system to contamination.

4. A hygienic, filtered beer storage and dispensing system as specifiedin claim 1, plus thermal insulation on said permanently installed bulkcontainer, and

an in-line cooler mounted in said system between said bulk container andsaid tap for chilling said filtered beer in advance of said tap.

5. A hygienic, filtered beer storage and dispensing system as specifiedin claim 1, plus a drinking vessel of greater capacity than is requiredto contain the said predetermined quantity of beer dispensed by saidmetering tap and to Contain the dispensing head normally produced in thedispensing of that quantity for receiving the same without spillage;

whereby no drip tray is necessitated to collect spillage and attempts toreturn spillage into said hygienic system are avoided.

6. A hygienic method of metering tap dispensing of volume occupied bythe head normally produced by said quantity, and

sizing said vessel to a capacity capable of containing the combinedvolume of said metered quantity of beer and head without spillage.

7. A method as specified in claim 6 plus the step of:

marking said vessel with a level indication for the said specific volumeof metered beer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,081,022 5/ 1937Smith 222-399 2,081,650 5/1937 Taminga et a1. 2,086,000 7/1937 Roren222-699 X 2,253,884 8/1941 Beecher 222399 X LOUIS J. DEMBO, PrimaryExaminer.

HADD S. LANE, Examiner.

1. A HYGIENIC, FILTERED BEER STORAGE AND DISPENSING SYSTEM, SAID SYSTEMCOMPRSING: A STORAGE ROOM; A BULK STORAGE BEER CONTAINER HAVING ACAPACITY OF MORE THAN ONE BARREL, SAID CONTAINER HAVING A GAS INLET ATTHE TOP THEREOF BUT BEING FREE OF LIQUID FILLING ORIFICES EXCEPT FOR ALIQUID INLET AND OUTLET OPENING, CLOSED BY A HEADER, AT THE BOTTOMTHEREOF; SUPPORTS PERMANENTLY INSTALLING SAID CONTAINER IN SAID ROOM; AGAS PIPE, OF RIGID MATERIAL, HAVING AN UPPER END CONNECTED TO SAID GASINLET AND HAVING A LOWER END EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM, TO A LEVELLOWER THAN THE TOP OF SAID CONTAINER, FOR PREVENTING THE INTRODUCTION OFLIQUID INTO SAID INLET; A METERING TAP, MOUNTED OUTSIDE OF SAID STORAGEROOM, SAID TAP DISPENSING A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF BEER, PLUS THEHEAD NORMALLY PRODUCED BY SUCH QUANTITY; A BEER DELIVERY CONDUITCONNECTING SAID TAP TO SAID HEADER; A BEER SUPPLY CONDUIT LEADING AWAYFROM SAID CONTAINER, SAID CONDUIT HAVING A DELIVERY END INTERCHANGEABLYWITH SAID HEADER FOR FILLING SAID CONTAINER; AND FLUID PRESSURE MEANS INSAID SYSTEM, IN ADVANCE OF SAID TAP, SAID MEANS BEING OPERABLE ON THEBEER IN SAID SYSTEM TO DELIVER SAID BEER UNDER PREDETERMINED PRESSURE TOSAID TAP; WHEREBY SAID SYSTEM IS INACCESSIBLE FOR INTRODUCTION OFDILUTANTS, DRIPPINGS OR SPILLINGS DURING SUPPLY TO, STORAGE IN ANDDELIVERY FROM SAID CONTAINER.